Ray Georgeson MBE - Borders Liberal Democrats 🔶

A child who was 5 when Nicola Sturgeon committed to ripping up the care system is now 15. The SNP minister talks of commitment to action, to drive change and implement legislation but those children have been hearing these empty promises for years.

Families are facing a brutal double whammy of rising bills and the support many have relied upon is disappearing. Liberal Democrats are proposing an emergency breathing space package to cut energy and transport costs and support high street businesses over the next 18 months.

Young people want to work and need the opportunity to do so. If someone is at risk of falling behind, they shouldn’t just be allowed to fall by the wayside. The Scottish Liberal Democrats will bring a national job guarantee for every care-experienced young person.

After years of underinvesting in our military, we are exposed and unprepared. We cannot afford to sit on our hands while Putin’s aggression intensifies. By investing now in six new warships, we can ensure Britain has the defence capabilities we need to stand up to the Kremlin.

The decision on Jackdaw must mark the tipping point for the transformation - not a fresh excuse to put it off. It's time to drive down demand for gas and wean ourselves off fossil fuels. It's why Lib Dems are calling for the rapid expansion of climate-friendly heating systems.

Money raised from the North Sea should help the people who work in it. That means paying for retraining, so offshore workers can move into good jobs in renewables, and building up a supply chain here in Scotland so those jobs are created at home, not overseas.

It's unacceptable that patients are stuck in waiting rooms for hours on end. Too many beds are occupied by people who can’t get the care package they need to return home. We need to fix the underlying problems in social care, letting people leave hospital with the care they need.

The crisis in social care is at the heart of these pressures, but the SNP have failed to tackle it. We need to get people the care packages they need, letting them leave hospital on time and freeing up bed space for new patients.